Campaigner urges public to ‘selfie responsibly’ following Lion Rock accident

A campaigner is seeking to raise global awareness of the dangers involved in taking selfies. Just a week ago, a hiker in Hong Kong fell to his death attempting to take a selfie atop Lion Rock in Kowloon.

Deepak Gandhi, from Mumbai, India, said he launched the SelfieToDieFor campaign a few months ago. On the campaign website, people can “read about the deadly outcomes of taking a risky selfie, and take a pledge to Selfie Responsibly”.

“I have seen people taking selfies while riding bikes, on the edges of ghats etc. That’s when I decided to do something to create awareness on this issue, globally,” Gandhi told HKFP.

“This [taking selfies] was an extremely dangerous move, jeopardising not only their lives but also of other passersby and vehicles,” he said. “We either get carried away while doing so, or we are under peer pressure to get bigger numbers of likes compared to our friends, for our selfie posts on social media.”

Gandhi said that the SelfieToDieFor campaign is currently self-funded but he is looking to expand it. “I’m looking to have this concept funded by a mobile brand who can take it up as a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative and help me take it to another level, globally.”

Lion Rock, where a hiker fell to his death last Saturday. Photo: Apple Daily.

Regarding the Lion Rock accident last Saturday, Gandhi said, “This is an unfortunate incident and we hope the family gathers courage to bear the major loss.”

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